Hurricane relief teams wait in Midland for deployment

Kathleen ThurberMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 2, 2008

By Kathleen Thurber

Staff Writer

With their matching yellow hats and lanyards carrying pins denoting cities they've provided aid in, volunteers from New Mexico leaned against a trailer Tuesday waiting to hear where the wake of Hurricane Gustav would leave the most need.

"We get the blessing out of it because we get to help people," said Wayne Turner, as he stood by one of the group's trailers carrying a generator that can power a building the size of Midland's First Baptist Church so it can be used for shelter.

The group of about 12 arrived in Midland around 2 a.m. Tuesday after receiving orders Monday to head from their homes in New Mexico to El Paso to wait to hear where they would provide hurricane relief. Part of the way there, though, they were told to redirect to Midland.

For some that meant driving nearly in a circle and spending at least twice as much time on the road than necessary. But, they said changing course in an instant is just part of the job.

"It's hard for people to understand why you'd travel a thousand miles to help them," Davis said. "There's just so many things that need to be done you can't pay for."

The group of mostly retired volunteers provides relief as part of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team, Turner said. Until they're deployed they'll stay in a home owned by First Baptist Church near Midland High, where they were joined by about 12 others traveling with the program Tuesday night. Each month they aid primarily in their own state for two weeks at a time and are also deployed to other places when additional help is needed. Wherever the Red Cross and Salvation Army go, they said, they follow.

For these volunteers from New Mexico, that has meant stints in New Orleans and Texas after previous hurricanes, weeks in Missouri and Kansas providing tornado relief, and most recently, helping with flood relief in their neighboring town of Ruidosa, N.M.

"When somebody comes in to do that for 'em you just see the relief on their face," Turner said.

Walter Williams agreed and said at each site they've worked he's overwhelmed by the gracious response from the people they've helped who said they don't know how to thank the group.

The experiences, he said laughing, also keep them young, and no matter where they are show God seems to take care of them.

During the upcoming relief efforts, Davis said, they'll probably remove trees blown into roadways, houses or power lines. Teams from the Southern Baptist relief group also will bring supplies to feed 65,000 people a day.

Chaplains also assist the group and listen to locals recovering from disasters or offer counseling to any who want it, Roy Baker said.

Their faith, the men said, is something they hope is evident through their actions, though they also discuss it with any who approach them with questions.

When someone has experienced a disaster they're a different person, Davis said, explaining that if they approached people on a normal day most would likely ignore them. But, after they've seen the group work, he said, people are usually open to hearing about what drives the volunteers.

"It helps them continue their lives until they can get back on their feet," Williams said.